Despite lying third in the League Newcastle fans could not have traveled with any great level of confidence to the Baseball Ground as Second division Derby were invincible on their own patch. The Rams were unbeaten in fourteen home games stretching back to the previous March and, of the ten second division sides to have so far visited the ground during the season, five had left having conceded at least five goals and only Barnsley had stopped the Rams scoring in an early season goalless draw. Despite now being 37 the Ram's most feared player remained the legendary Steve Bloomer who had been joined by his former Middlesbrough team mate Harry Leonard and the former England international George Richards. Jimmy Bauchop had played at the highest level in Scotland with Celtic while Ivan Sharpe was a respected amateur who was due to represent Great Britain at the forthcoming 1912 Olympics while among the younger players were three future England internationals in keeper, Ernie Scattergood, Frank Buckley and Jimmy Bagshaw. The first twenty minutes of the game were rather quiet as both side gave each other far too much respect in an even contest before a moment of brilliance and another of controversy gave the fans plenty to talk about at half time. First came the brilliance as Richards audaciously shot from the half way line with a red faced Sid Blake unable to scramble back to keep the shot out. Fully eighty years before David Beckham launched his career in similar circumstances it was a shame that Richard's strike, with boots and a ball much heavier than Beckham's, should be considered lucky by the watching press as he fully meant to shoot. The Rams should have been two up by the interval but were cursing the rashness of the referee who blew for a free kick on Bloomer when Derby had a clear goalscoring advantage, which Leonard finished off only to be told no goal. Newcastle were unable to respond to their good fortune and although they had the better of the first half hour of the second period they rarely threatened and were punished when Jimmy Bauchop fired home Sharpe's cross from close range to put the game beyond the visitors. With the visiting fans slipping away to get the early train home Leonard finally got his name on the score-sheet after Bloomer had set him up. Derby's next home game was their second round cup tie but this time their home invincibility was shattered by the Blackburn side which went on to be crowned League Champions at the end of the season and the defeat in the cup threatened the Ram's bid for promotion as they then lost their next two home league games before finally getting back on track to clinch both the second division title and promotion. Newcastle therefore were back at the Baseball ground for a league clash in March 1913, they lost then too, by the narrower margin of 2-1 as the Rams finished higher up the table.

Like Derby, Chelsea were pushing for promotion and were unbeatable in front of their own fans who hadn't seen a defeat at Stamford Bridge for thirty-four games stretching back almost two years. Despite going unbeaten at home throughout the previous season it had been a string of injuries that had ultimately cost them promotion but they had managed to keep the nucleus of the side that had been relegated in 1910 together with eight of them taking the field for this first round cup tie along with George Dodd who came to the bridge with plenty of top flight experience gained at Notts County. Despite their impressive record the blues would surely need the experience to get past a Sheffield United side unbeaten in five games. At a misty Bridge, United started the better but in an end to end contest it was Chelsea who netted what proved to be the only goal of the game when Scottish International Angus Douglas saw his cross blasted past Joe Mitchell by George Dodd midway through the first period. Indeed if it weren't for Mitchell Chelsea may well have won more impressively and the visiting United fans could have no complaints. Chelsea were rewarded in round two with a trip to the cup holders Bradford but on a bitterly cold snowy day everything went wrong for the blues and in addition to a straightforward cup exit they also lost three key players to injury which saw their promotion march begin to falter again. Just when promotion seemed lost the Blues recovered to snatch top flight status on the final day of the season. That prompted another visit from United in September and yet again they left empty handed, beaten 4-2 but it was a clash in 1915 that would be the most memorable when the two sides met in the cup final itself. Chelsea fielded three of the 1912 side in Walter Bettridge, Bob Thomspon and Fred Taylor but the trio would leave with loser's medals.

By 1912 Swindon had well and truly taken on the mantle of the great cup fighting Southern League teams of a decade earlier and were the non league club everyone feared in the cup. This year's second round defeat of Nott's County was almost run of the mill for the Robins with club legend Harold Fleming opening the scoring after thirty-eight minutes. County resorted to trying to kick Swindon and in particular English international Fleming off the park at that point and paid when Freddy Wheatcroft sealed their fate in the second period. Such was Swindon's reputation in the cup by this time that it caused hardly a ripple in the press. No matter, there were much bigger fish for the Robins to fry. {see below}

The relegation threatened Reds got no comfort from their second round trip to Fulham as they were outclassed and outplayed by the Cottagers who dominated after the ex Arsenal, Everton, Sunderland and England International Tim Coleman finished off a good run and cross from Bert Pearce on the quarter hour mark. The Reds still had their chances though, most notably just before the break when Jimmy Harrop forced a great save from Arthur Reynolds but in the second half the game was to slip away from them when Pearce thumped an unstoppable header past the helpless Sam Hardy before Tim Coleman wrapped up a great afternoon by the Thames with the third from an of the match Willie Walker's through ball, just moments after missing a sitter that could have set him up for a hat-trick. The hapless Reds survived relegation by a point while Fulham's cup run ended in the quarter finals where West Brom proved too good.

34,000 fans had been stunned when Southern League Second Division champions Reading had forced a replay in their second round tie at Villa Park when Bailey equalised Harry Hampton's earlier goal. The Villians were forgiven this blip as many put it down to the hard pitch, frosty conditions, great goalkeeping from James Caldwell and, of course, the great leveler the cup is. Even so Villa were fielding nine internationals in the replay at Elm Park against a Reading side whose only household name was Olympic gold medalist Herbert Smith who had also gained full honours with England. Yet again Caldwell played the game of his life, making a string of excellent saves before Alan Foster won the game midway through the second half. The prize for Reading couldn't have been greater when drawn at home to reigning champions Manchester United. Yet again Reading defied the experts and forced a 1-1 draw before going down valiantly at Old Trafford.

What a difference a year had made to West Ham United as just four players remained from the side that had so famously defeated the eventual champions, Manchester United a year earlier. Fairman, Ashton, Shea, Caldwell and their new team mates traveled to Teeside to face a Middlesbrough side which were being widely tipped as a good bet to win the cup for the first time. The Hammers took the lead at Ayresome Park through Fred Harrison but he was injured in the process and the momentum the Hammers built up was lost as Elliott equalised before 'Boro were awarded a penalty that would surely seals the Londoner's fate. It was missed and four days later the Hammers were back on their own patch, known in those days as the Boleyn Castle Grounds for an unlikely replay. Harrison was only half fit but still fit enough to net the winner that booked a home tie and ultimate cup exit to fellow Southern League giant killers, Swindon.

4,000 Barnsley fans made the trip to Burnden Park in glorious sunshine having come to expect their team to win cup ties no matter who the opposition. They had a team good enough to play among the elite but their cup exploits were causing erratic league form which yet again was costing them their chances of promotion. Bolton though were lying fourth in the league and while their title hopes were fading their fans felt that they had a great chance of winning the cup. In the first half it was only three fantastic saves from Jack Cooper that kept the scoresheet blank and Bolton looked like paying when George Lillycrop broke the deadlock for the visitors. The game ended painfully in more than one way for the home side as Ernie Whiteside put through his own goal to give Barnsley the win while the home players complained bitterly at the end of the visitor's over physical approach.

One of the biggest mistakes the Football Association ever made was to introduce penalty shootouts into the F A cup and do away with the great tradition of a tie being played until a clear winner was found. It removed the great element of the epic cup tie going to a fourth or fifth game before being settled, usually in dramatic fashion. In truth it was rare for such ties to involve sides from different divisions and even rarer for the lower division side to triumph but it first happened in 1912 when Barnsley and Bradford traded blows for seven hours of football. The first two meetings at Oakwell and Valley Parade weren't classics as Barnsley seemed to have squandered two great chances to send the cup holders packing but it served to heighten excitement for the third meeting at Elland Road in Leeds, which attracted 50,000 to a ground that could barely hold 40,000. The result again was a 0-0 draw, Bradford's twelfth consecutive shut out in cup football but this third meeting was memorable for events off the field in the packed stands. Many fans broke in without paying while many more ticket holders were locked out in the mad stampede to see the action. £23 of gate money was also stolen by one opportunist thief in the confusion and the game had to be abandoned after two hours of trying to complete the ninety minutes without success. The field was regularly encroached upon and the game was stopped for half an hour at one stage while the touchlines were repainted. In addition Barnsley paid a heavy price when centre forward Bert Leavey suffered a horrible double leg fracture midway through the first half. The two teams petitioned the Football Association to stage the next meeting at Old Trafford but the FA opted instead for Sheffield's Bramall Lane ground to which many thousands of fans walked on the day of the game. Again the ground was heaving to bursting point as another 50,000 crammed in to witness one of the greatest cup games of the pre first war era. This time neither side was going to hang around and set about each other like two boxers determined to get a knockout. Both sides could have scored twice each in the first ten minutes with McDonald going closest when his drive crashed off the bar before finally the deadlock was broken in the two hundred and eighty second minute of the tie. Mellors had already parried two shots which his backs failed to clear before Travers stabbed the ball home and then disappeared under a sea of delighted teammates while Bradford players slumped as if they had conceded a last minute goal. Barnsley dominated the next twenty minutes but chances to kill off the tie were squandered as Mellors made a great one handed save from Tufnell and then was fortunate to stop Lillycrop's point blank header. Then when Mellors was beaten, Lillycrop managed to hit the bar with the goal at his mercy. Bradford should have been dead and buried but having survived they rallied and were unlucky when Thompson hit the angle of post and bar before the interval. The fans needed the time to get their breath back before an equally scintilating second half with even more drama which again saw Barnsley as the better side. This time though it was Bradford going closest as Devine forced a terrific save from Cooper before Thompson managed to steer the ball wide when it was surely easier to score. By now the field was like a Boer war dressing station with players from both sides limping or going down with injuries and the game being played virtually at a walking pace but that just allowed the space for more drama as Cooper came for a Bradford corner in the sixty-fourth minute and didn't get there, allowing Spiers to head the equaliser. The game now seemed to turn in the cup holder's favour and when Devine put them in front sixteen minutes from the end Barnsley looked beaten. Where there's life there's hope and with six minutes left on the clock it was all square again when Lillycrop forced home a corner to once again swing the momentum Barnsley's way and it was so nearly settled a minute later when Lillycrop struck the Bradford woodwork for the second time. It was hardly surprising that neither side could muster more than a brisk walk during extra time and the game fizzled out to what looked for all the world like a fourth replay until three minutes from time when Gane handled in the box and the whole stadium waited for the referee, Mr Adams to point to the spot. To everyone's surprise he didn't but justice was served in the dying seconds when Lilycrop's tame shot beat Mellors to snatch a sensational victory for Barnsley.

The Tyke's reward for winning the marathon quarter final with Bradford City was a semi final battle with the giant killers of the Southern League, Swindon. The word battle is not used lightly as their tie remains one of the ugliest semi finals in history in which the overworked referee thought long and hard before deciding not to dismiss any individual player. Phil Bratley won it only after Swindon had missed a penalty and booked their second cup final in three years, this time against West Bromwich Albion. The cup final is so well written about in print and on the internet already that It's enough to say that for the fourth time in history the cup went outside the top flight through a goal by Harry Tufnell with just two minutes of extra time remaining. It remains the only time the cup has gone to Barnsley.